Mythical Three Kingdoms

Everything proceeded as if following a preordained script—there were waves, fluctuations, and conflicts, yet everything had already been planned out in advance. Nothing could defy Jia Xu’s fully realized Spiritual Talent, a force akin to writing fate itself, where all events were anticipated before they occurred.

The so-called overwhelming tide could not be resisted. To Jia Xu, who had practically completed the projection of the entire Yuan Liu conflict, all these disputes were but minor ripples. Compared to that irresistible surge, all waves would eventually dissipate into the vast flow of the great tide.

This was the reason that Mount Tai could always maintain a semblance of calm amid chaos. No matter how tumultuous the events, they could not obscure Jia Xu’s judgment of the future. At most, they posed a question of losses, not of victory or defeat.

Of course, this rested on the premise that unforeseen circumstances would not arise. Unfortunately, there were times when the unexpected emerged, shattering all predictions despite the thorough preparations.

Leisurely completing his official duties, Jia Xu handed over the agenda to Wang Yi. It was undeniable that she had become increasingly competent, now surpassing Wang Xiu of a bygone era, and starting to strive toward Lub Su’s stature when he first arrived at Mount Tai.

”Boning, have you finished?” Chen Xi asked as Wang Yi poured tea and water, glancing toward Mann Chong. As for Jian Yong and Liu Yan, they had already withdrawn from Yanzhou to Mount Tai, but their assigned tasks still remained incomplete.

”The fundamental statutes are basically finished, but loopholes remain. More critically, how should we implement the dissemination? There are some fixed statuses, and we simply lack the authority!” Mann Chong raised his head to look at Chen Xi, speaking in a slightly stern tone.

”Have the comparative revisions for the Civil Law, Criminal Law, Commercial Law, and Clan Law been completed?” Chen Xi furrowed his brows. Status constraints were not something he had a good solution for, and based on the required intensity and nature of the laws at the time, they were undoubtedly foundational.

”Civil Law and Criminal Law are passable, but Clan Law is somewhat difficult to enforce. As for Commercial Law, according to Boning’s account, loopholes have already appeared. People are using Ticket Exchange notes as collateral and completing secondary transactions directly. Worse yet, some are leveraging their own credit to engage in initial transactions at a Money Exchange, subsequently utilizing time discrepancies for multiple trades, ultimately engaging in empty-handed profiteering.” Mi Zhu interjected at this moment, remarking on how Commercial Law had already been broken by his merchant association.

”I say, we should apprehend all of them outright, especially those like the Shen Family, Hann Family, Deng Family, and Song Family, who exploit loopholes. Their exploitative conduct should all be dealt with severely!” Mann Chong said with a dark expression. His Commercial Law, which was just modified based on Mi Zhu’s draft regulations for merchant associations, had already been broken in various ways.

”Oh, so people have already learned to trade using promissory notes,” Chen Xi remarked with a sidelong glance at Mi Zhu.

”Promissory notes?” Mi Zhu did not immediately grasp the term. After a moment’s thought, he realized that this trading method involved using personal credit as collateral.

If people didn’t already know you possessed substantial financial resources, who would trust you? It was like now, where Mi Zhu wrote a note agreeing to trade first, then later drew on the note to claim funds. If the other party wasn’t in a rush, they wouldn’t scrutinize the underlying issues in this transaction. Essentially, this recognized the counterpart’s financial strength and reputation.

”Indeed, this is the trading method, and everyone has become quite accustomed to it. For instance, some time ago I went to procure wool and had to pay three billion coins. You don’t expect me to use carts to deliver the payment, do you?” Mi Zhu, noticing Mann Chong’s grim expression, spoke somewhat indignantly. Using carts for three billion coins would be absurdly idiotic.

Mi Zhu’s comment turned Mann Chong’s face coal-black, and Chen Xi nearly burst out laughing. To transport three billion coins by cart, assuming one cart could carry three tons, one would need a thousand carts!

Truth be told, among the Five Great Merchants, the Mi Family and Zhen Family held the most liquid assets, totaling approximately twenty billion coins each. The rest of their wealth lay in land, financial reserves, servants, and other assets. Previous transactions often occurred in batches, or via barter. But to conduct massive transactions purely with cash would indeed be irrational.

”Are you seeing increasingly larger transaction amounts now? Have some businesses started dealing exclusively in niche sectors?” Chen Xi pondered for a moment before inquiring.

”Yes. Being able to execute transactions in a single instance greatly benefits us. In fact, these days, whenever transactions exceed a million coins, we rely on Ticket Exchange notes. Most of us top merchants are running exclusive businesses now since we’ve discovered these ventures are easier for managing personnel.” Mi Zhu nodded in affirmation. At this point, abolishing Ticket Exchange notes would surely face resistance from the wealthiest aristocratic families.

”Are the Wu Family and Weii Family also using our Ticket Exchange notes?” Chen Xi asked curiously.

”All the prominent merchants throughout the Great Han Dynasty use our notes,” Mi Zhu replied matter-of-factly. ”If not ours, whose else would they use?”

”...” Chen Xi was left speechless. Mi Zhu hadn’t even considered the implications this carried. These Ticket Exchange notes had essentially become a circulating currency, and since Chen Xi continuously channeled the funds held in the Money Exchange into building up Qing and Xu, this effectively doubled the baseline liquidity across the region.

”Alright, then we can recognize the circulation of promissory notes as legitimate. However, inform them that we won’t take responsibility for secondary transactions. It’s best if they go to the Money Exchange during the trade and secure a supplementary proof. But Zizhong, make sure to closely monitor the Money Exchange to avoid any mishaps,” Chen Xi said with a faint smile. If promissory notes became prevalent, they could at least enable safer usage of financial instruments.

”I’ll ensure they don’t act recklessly, and I’ll also conduct stricter audits for issuing proofs,” Mi Zhu nodded, assuming Chen Xi wanted him to tighten controls over merchants issuing Ticket Exchange notes.

Bear in mind, the Money Exchange at present operated with an exploitative model. Depositing funds required the depositor to provide proof of their assets. While most merchants refrained from fully disclosing their wealth, about one-third to one-half of them did.

Of course, the Five Great Merchants had no such reservations. They boldly listed fifty to seventy billion coins in assets, depositing roughly three billion coins, yet issued up to ten billion coins in Ticket Exchange notes for purchases.

To Mann Chong, this amounted to outright law-breaking. Moreover, these profiteers were utilizing these ten-billion-coin Ticket Exchange notes not just for one transaction, but for multiple deals—sometimes dozens—while having only deposited three billion coins in the Money Exchange. This was unquestionably illicit conduct, though Mann Chong hadn’t pinpointed the exact legal violations.

”I wasn’t asking you to monitor the merchants. Their use of promissory notes involves their own risks; we just need to manage our matters properly. What I meant was for you to oversee relationships between the subsidiary Money Exchanges and local governments. Since funds for building Qing and Xu are allocated from the Money Exchange to local administrations and later supplemented by Mount Tai Bank to regional Money Exchanges, minimizing unnecessary handling,” Chen Xi explained with some frustration.

”Isn’t this method ideal? It eliminates several issues,” Mann Chong, his dark face revealing slight confusion, remarked. Corruption had always been a concern, and Chen Xi’s approach mitigated many related risks.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)